Caccini, Francesca (1587–c. 1626)

Italian composer, singer, and teacher. Name variations: Signorini, La Cecchina. Born in Florence on September 18, 1587; died around 1626 (some sources cite 1640), possibly in Florence; daughter of Giulio Caccini (c. 1546–1618, a revolutionary composer and instrumentalist) and a musical mother (name unknown); sister of Settimia Caccini (c. 1591–c. 1638); married Giovanni Battista Signorini Malaspina; children: two.

Known as "La Cecchina," Francesca Caccini was a skilled composer, singer, and instrumentalist who served the Medici court in Florence. Her 1625 La liberazione di Ruggiero dall' isola d'Alcina was the first known opera by a woman, and it also saw distinction as the first Italian opera to be performed abroad. She was born in Florence in 1587 and studied with her father Giulio Caccini. According to Monteverdi, Francesca was proficient on the lute, guitar, and harpsichord. At the Florentine court, she appeared with sister Settimia and their mother, taking part in lavish musical productions; during 1604–05, the three also appeared together in Paris. La Cecchina's composing apparently began at the prompting of poet Buonarroti. Among the festive ballets that comprised her early efforts was the 1615 Il ballo delle zigane (The Ballet of the Gypsies), a work, now lost, in which she also took part. In 1618, Primo libro delle musiche, a collection of skilled monodic writing that is said to be after her father's style, was published and showed her strong potential as a composer.

This promise was realized with her collaboration with Marco da Gagliano on the azione sacra Il martirio di Sant'Agata and with her La liberazione di Ruggiero, the latter of which was written for the visit to the Tuscan court of Poland's Prince Ladislas. In addition to being the first opera composed by a woman, La liberazione di Ruggiero, which was based on an episode of Ariosto's epic Orlando furioso, was one of the first operas not based on classical mythology. The work made a marked impression on the prince, as it was performed in Cracow in 1628, the same year a Polish translation was published there. The Cracow production is said to have had a fundamental influence on operatic development in Poland, with Prince Ladislas originating an Italian opera troupe as soon as he ascended the throne as Ladislas IV Vasa in 1632. Married to composer Giovanni Malaspina, La Cecchina passed her musical talent on to her two children, who were also performers at the Medici court.